Tephilloth, Containing the Forms of Prayers which are Publicly Read in the Synagogues, and Used in All Families

AM 5530, [i.e. 1770]

Shoults Eb 1770 J

London: Printed by W. Tooke for the Translators

About 1770, Alexander Alexander, a member of the Jewish community in London, realized that there was a desperate need for a Hebrew printing press, and an English translation of the prayer book. One reason for the last was ‘a veneration for the Holy Language’ (Leshon Hakodesh (לשון הקדש‬)). Although not a scholar, Alexander produced, along with Benedict Just of Halberstadt (known as Baruch Meyers), the Tephilloth, the first Hebrew-English Prayer Book printed in England. Produced on a subscription basis, some of the buyers included many non-Jews. The preface also states: ‘The reader will observe that this book is printed from right hand to left, conformably to the Hebrew.’